Julia Wickham

The Wittenberg field hockey team is on a roll. No other description applies when a team hasn't lost in more than a month and has stormed back from an 0-2 start to the conference season to claim a share of the regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming tournament.

The Tigers claimed their share of the NCAC title with a 4-1 win at Earlham on Tuesday night, their third conference regular season title in the last four years under the direction of Head Coach Marianne Beshara. The current eight-game win streak has extended streaks of 22 consecutive non-losing seasons, 15 straight winning campaigns and 14 seasons in a row with 10 or more wins for the program.

Against Earlham, the Tigers jumped out to a 2-0 lead by halftime and cruised past the host Quakers. Sophomore Julia Wickham (Columbus, Ohio/Grandview) scored two goals and junior Blair Ufer (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) added two assists to lead the offensive barrage.

Wittenberg will host a tourney semifinal game on Saturday, Nov. 1. Wittenberg, which is unbeaten at home in 2003, will play fourth-seeded Denison, which split a pair of games with the Tigers in the regular season, at 1 p.m. at Edwards-Maurer Field. The winner moves on to the NCAC Tournament championship game on Nov. 8. The winner of that game, which will be hosted by the highest-seeded team remaining in the competition, is awarded the automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament, which starts Nov. 13.

The Tigers are attempting to make a return trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament after finishing with a 17-4 record in 2002 and winning the NCAC regular season and tournament titles. That season came to an end in the second round of the national tourney.

In 2003, Wittenberg has been led by junior goalkeeper Jen Meyer (Solon, Ohio/Hathaway Brown), who got off to a slow start with a completely new defensive unit protecting her, but has been red-hot of late. She is credited with four of the team's five shutouts during the current eight-game winning streak, and she ranks third in the NCAC with a saves percentage of .832. Offensively, the Tigers have gotten strong play freshman Katy Barrett (Powell, Ohio/Watterson) with 10 goals and three assists for 23 total points, Ufer with six goals, eight assists and 20 total points and senior Katie Babcock (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney) with six goals, three assists and 15 total points.

Next: 11/1 vs. Denison, 1 p.m.
NCAC Tournament First Round

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Ryan Holmes

In its long and storied football tradition, Wittenberg has played Ohio Wesleyan more than any other opponent. It took 79 meetings for the Tigers to finally get things perfect in the form of a 63-0 Homecoming win over Ohio Wesleyan. It was the widest margin of victory for Wittenberg in the long series with the Battling Bishops that dates back to 1894.

Wittenberg got touchdowns from seven different players in posting its second consecutive shutout victory. Wittenberg ran up 538 yards of total offense to 237 for the Battling Bishops.

Wittenberg got on the board on its first play from scrimmage as junior quarterback Ryan Holmes (Oxford, Ohio/Talawanda) hooked up with senior wide receiver Skip Ivery (Columbus, Ohio/Groveport-Madison) on an 83-yard scoring pass. Just 56 seconds later, sophomore cornerback Mike Freeman (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne) returned an interception 24 yards to make the score 14-0 and the rout was on.

Ivery had one of the biggest games in his outstanding career with five receptions for 164 yards and two touchdowns and two carries for 23 yards. Holmes was equally outstanding with 11 completions in 15 attempts for a career-high 268 yards and three touchdowns. His back-up, sophomore George Andress (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior), also got into the act, completing both of his passes for 36 yards and one touchdown.

The scoring barrage continued in the second quarter as junior tailback Raymar Hampshire (Lima, Ohio/Elida) scored on runs of 16 and three yards and Ivery added a 19-yard TD reception from Holmes. Hampshire, who now has 705 yards rushing and 14 total touchdowns on the season, led all rushers with 82 yards on 15 carries, while freshman Joe Brumfield (Springfield, Ohio/Kenton Ridge) finished with 70 yards on seven carries and freshman fullback Tyler Harmon (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian) added 49 yards on nine carries.

Sophomore wide receiver Dymond McDonald (Troy, Ohio/Troy), Harmon, freshman wide receiver Mark Harriman (Bexley, Ohio/Bexley) and freshman tailback Scott Williams (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield) all scored touchdowns in the second half as reserves gobbled up most of the playing time. Defensively, senior linebacker Gary George (Cincinnati, Ohio/Purcell Marian) led the team with a career-high 17 tackles. Senior linebacker Peter Franz (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) and freshman safety Mitch Fonseca (Miami, Fla./Christopher Columbus) added 12 tackles each.

Wittenberg is ranked No. 25 in the latest American Football Coaches Association poll. The Tigers put their season on the line Saturday as they travel to Meadville, Pa. for a game against NCAC-leading Allegheny.

Next: 11/1 at Allegheny, 1 p.m.

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Jenny Mulligan

The Wittenberg men's and women's swimming and diving teams may have made an important breakthrough last weekend at the annual NCAC Relays event, hosted by Kenyon but conducted at Wooster. The Tiger men and women both finished third in the ultra-competitive competition behind only the top two teams in the nation each year, Kenyon and Denison.

The women tied for third with Wooster, which finished 10th in the nation a year ago. The team's best finish was in the 200-yard backstroke relay, in which the foursome of freshman Jenny Mulligan (Cheyney, Pa./Delaware Valley Friends), freshman Shantel Sechrist (Saltsburg, Pa./Saltsburg), sophomore Betany Yeakley (Wilmington, Ohio/Wilmington) and senior Courtney Galliger (Eagan, Minn./Eagan) took second place in a time of 1:55.21.

Another strong finish was turned in by the quartet of Tiger swimmers who finished fourth in the 400-yard Individual Medley relay with a time of 4:21.61. The members of that relay were Yeakley, Mulligan, sophomore Amy Conner (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) and Becca Searcy (Shelbyville, Ky./Shelby County).

On the men's side, the Tigers finished third, pulling in just ahead of rivals Wabash, Hiram and Allegheny. The Little Giants finished third a year ago and went on to take a top 20 spot in the NCAA Division III standings in March.

Wittenberg's best finish in an individual event was posted in the 200-yard butterfly relay. The foursome of Steve Rader (Concord, Ohio/St. Ignatius), senior Kyle Dunaway (Warren, Ohio/Howland), senior Alex Berger (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay) and sophomore Dan McGuire (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria) took fourth place in a time of 1:41.74.

In addition, the 400 IM relay quartet of Rader, Dunaway, Berger and junior Blake Troxel (Bluffton, Ind./Norwell) claimed third place in that event with a time of 3:53.92. And rounding things out, the Tigers scored significant points in the diving events as freshman Cody Nicely (Knoxville, Tenn./Bearden) turned in strong finishes in the 1-meter and 3-meter events to lead the relay teams to second place in each competition.

Next: 11/1 vs. Wooster, 1 p.m.

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Sarah Yuskewich

The Wittenberg volleyball team is once again preeminent in the North Coast Athletic Conference after clinching a seventh consecutive conference regular season title with a perfect 8-0 record, but the Tigers have a lot of work to do.

The Tigers are 21-5 overall and 8-0 in the NCAC heading into this weekend's tournament at Trinity (Texas), where six nationally ranked teams are going head-to-head. Wittenberg has now won 51 straight NCAC matches, dating back to October 1997 and a five-game defeat at Case Western Reserve. The Tigers have also won 18 consecutive NCAC Tournament matches - and six straight tourney titles - dating back to a 3-2 loss to Ohio Wesleyan in the 1996 championship match.

Dating back to 1992, Wittenberg has won eight of the last 10 NCAC Tournament championships, and the top-seeded Tigers will begin the quest for their ninth crown in 11 years on Tuesday with a home match against eighth-seeded Ohio Wesleyan at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 4. A win in that match and the Tigers would advance to the NCAC Tournament semifinals, an event Wittenberg would host at 5:30 and 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7, in the HPER Center. The conference tourney title match is at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8.

Wittenberg is angling for an eighth straight NCAA Division III Tournament berth and an opportunity to extend the successes of a year ago, when the Tigers finished 34-8 overall and won the first Great Lakes Regional title in school history. Wittenberg, which is ranked fifth in the nation in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, lost to eventual national champion Wisconsin-Whitewater in the national quarterfinals a year ago.

The Tigers have displayed tremendous balance in 2003 under the direction of first-year Head Coach Paco Labrador, who took over for the winningest coach in school history, Connie Surowicz, in April. Junior Sarah Yuskewich (Columbus, Ohio/Watterson), a first-team All-America selection in 2002, leads the team, the conference and ranks fifth in the nation in assists per game at 12.79, a year after she set an NCAA Division III record with 2,125 assists in a season. She has already set a school record for assists in a career. Junior Kristin Fox (Galion, Ohio/Galion) leads the team and ranks third in the NCAC in kills with 3.59 per game. Junior Emilie Schmid (Canton, Ohio/Massillon Jackson) ranks first in the conference and third in the nation with 7.40 digs per game, and she is on pace to set a school record for digs in a season.

Next: 10/31-11/1 at Trinity (Tx.)

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Cristin Gill

The Wittenberg women's soccer team is competing well with the best of one of the best soccer conferences in the nation. Problem is, Head Coach Norm Riker and his young team aren't playing for moral victories.

In the last week, the Tigers lost to Wooster 3-0 on Saturday and Denison 3-0 on Wednesday. Both teams are ranked among the top 10 in the region and have received votes in the national NCAA Division III poll. Both are also moving on to the NCAC Tournament next week as two of the top four teams in the regular season standings.

In the loss to Wooster, senior goalkeeper Jenny Miller (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mother of Mercy) recorded nine saves and sophomore Emily Hiscar (Pataskala, Ohio/Watkins Memorial) and freshman Jamie McIntyre (Columbus, Ohio/Grandview) each took two shots.

In the loss to Denison, the Tigers fell behind 3-0 in the first 25 minutes, but rallied to play a strong second half. Five different players took at least one shot and Miller recorded 10 saves.

The season wraps up on Saturday at home against Oberlin. Five seniors will play their final game in the Red & White - Geri Woessner (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood), Cristin Gill (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland), Jessica Shellhause (London, Ohio/London), Kaiti Hiscar (Pataskala, Ohio/Watkins Memorial) and Miller.

Next: 11/1 vs. Oberlin, 1 p.m.

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Greg Zeller

The Wittenberg men's soccer team has one game left in a rebuilding 2003 season that has yielded some high points and provided great promise for the future. The team's latest outing resulted in a 1-0 home loss on Saturday to nationally ranked Denison.

After the Big Red, who are one of four teams qualified for the NCAC Tournament next week, scored late in the first half, the Tigers controlled much of the action in the final 45 minutes but couldn't push across the equalizer. Perhaps summing up the team's close-but-no-cigar season, a shot from inside the penalty box after a corner kick hit the Denison goal post and trickled across the goal mouth before the Big Red keeper pounced on it to preserve the shutout with just 16 seconds left in the game.

The youthful Tigers wrap up the 2003 season on Saturday with a road game at Oberlin. Playing their final home game against Denison were four seniors - Matt Sharp (Mainville, Ohio/Middletown Fenwick), Greg Zeller (Springfield, Ohio/North), Steve Doring (Dayton, Ohio/Wayne) and Tim Fogler (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston).

Next: 11/1 at Oberlin, 1 p.m.

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The Wittenberg men's and women's cross country teams took a week off from competition before heading to Wooster for the Nov. 1 NCAC Championship meet. The regional meet is slated for Nov. 8 at Hanover College in Indiana.

Next: 11/1 NCAC Championships at Wooster